High efficiency side burner and outdoor cooker

ABSTRACT

A burner apparatus which can be used as a side burner for an outdoor grill. The burner apparatus includes a burner head having a plurality of surrounding discharge ports and a flame guide element positioned in the burner head for receiving the combustible gas feed stream. The flame guide element has a plurality of guide openings which discharge the combustible gas stream into the burner head toward the discharge ports such that the combustible gas stream flows out of the discharge ports of the burner head at an angle which is preferably in the range of from 0° to about 30° upward from horizontal. This greatly increases the effectiveness and fuel efficiency of the burner by increasing the flame contact area for a cooking pot placed on the burner, allowing the use of a more shallow burner pan, and allowing the burner head to be raised.

RELATED CASE

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/972,469 filed on Mar. 31, 2014 and incorporates the provisional application by reference into this document as if fully set out at this point.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to burners and side burners for use in outdoor grills and in other outdoor and indoor cooking systems. The present invention also relates to outdoor grills and other outdoor cookers which include side burners.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Outdoor gas barbecue grills commonly include auxiliary side burners which are mounted on side shelves outside of the grill firebox. Historically, although useful for some purposes, the capabilities and performance of the side burners installed on outdoor gas grills have fallen far short of the cooking performance, range of uses, and overall functionality of the stove top burners used on indoor cooking ranges. Moreover, the prior art gas side burners have been highly inefficient.

In contrast to indoor burners, outdoor side burners must meet stringent requirements demonstrating that the side burner will continue to operate when exposed to high winds and other conditions encountered in outdoor environments. The failure of the side burner to meet these requirements can result in flame-out (i.e., combustion failure) conditions leading to the hazardous release and potential accumulation of uncombusted gas.

While much effort has been focused on improving the capabilities and cooking performance of outdoor grill side burners to match, as much as possible, the capabilities and functionality of indoor stove top burners, much less attention has been given to improving their efficiency. Rather, to ensure that the outdoor side burners will also pass the requisite wind and combustion tests, the common practice in the industry has typically been to do whatever is expedient to prevent flame impingement conditions and provide a large margin of safety against combustion failure. Consequently, although some improvements in the cooking capabilities of outdoor gas side burners have been achieved, the improved gas side burners typically have not been significantly more energy efficient than the older side burners, and have sometimes been even less so.

A prior art gas side burner 2 configured to meet wind and other outdoor operating requirements is illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2. The prior art side burner 2 comprises: a burner pan 4 which is installed in a grill side tray 5 of a prior art outdoor grill 7; a burner head 6 which is positioned inside the burner pan 4 below the upper end 8 thereof; a plurality of discharge ports 10 extending around the burner head 6 for discharging a combustible gas fuel (typically a fuel and primary air mixture) for combustion; a fuel line 12 which extends through the bottom of the burner pan 4 for delivering the fuel/air mixture to the burner head 6; a series of secondary air openings 15 formed through the bottom of the burner pan in a circular pattern having a radius greater than the radius of the burner head 6; and a support grate 14 for supporting a cooking pot, pan, or other cooking container 16 a distance above the upper end 8 of the burner pan 4.

To prevent combustion failure due to impingement and/or due to winds, combustion, or other adverse conditions, the burner head 6 of the prior art gas side burner 2 has been spaced a significant distance below the cooking pot support grate 14. Also, to sustain the flame on high wind, typically, higher fuel input is provided at the low valve control setting. In addition, the burner head 6 has typically been of large diameter such that, due to flow patterns within the burner head 6, the fuel/air mixture exiting the discharge ports 10 of the burner head 6 is initially ejected at a downward angle as illustrated by flow arrows 18, thereby causing the resulting combustion flame stream 22 to flow outwardly a greater distance before turning upwardly toward the cooking pan 16.

One detrimental result of the design of the prior art side burner 2 in terms of efficiency and performance is that the large diameter of the burner head 6 and the downwardly angled ejection of the fuel/air mixture from the discharge ports 10 creates a very large central zone 20 beneath the bottom of the cooking pan 16 which is not heated by direct contact with the combustion flame stream 22. For a side burner of typical size for heating a 6 to 11 inch cooking pot 16, the size of this poorly heated zone 20 can be as large as 7 inches in diameter or more. Consequently, for an 11 inch cooking pot 16 positioned on a prior art side burner 2 of this size, only about the outer 2 inches or less of the bottom of the pan 16 are directly contacted by the combustion flame stream 22. Moreover, for a smaller cooking pot, the combustion flame stream 22 can escape without directly contacting the bottom of the pot 16 at all.

In addition, the degree of heat transfer to the bottom of the cooking pot 16 in the poorly heated zone 20 is further diminished due to the typical structure of the prior art support grate 14 upon which the cooking pan 16 is placed. In many prior art side burners 2, the support grate 14 comprises a plurality of parallel support rods 24 which extend from front to back or from right to left over the top of the burner 2. Rather than permitting a continuous radial flow of flue gases 26 and of the combustion flame stream 22 in all directions along the bottom surface of the cooking pot 16, the parallel support rods 24 act as hurdles which divert the flow of these gases downwardly and create air insulated zones on the bottom of the cooking pot 16.

Consequently, a need exists for an improved gas side burner for an outdoor grill which (a) has improved capabilities for cooking and heating which are more comparable to the capabilities and performance of stove top gas burners used on indoor cooking ranges, (b) provides significantly improved fuel efficiency, (c) significantly increases the direct contact area of the combustion flame stream with the bottom of the cooking pan or pot, (d) significantly reduces or eliminates air insulated zones on the bottom of the cooking pan or pot during operation, and (e) meets or exceeds all combustion and other requirements for operating in high winds and in other adverse outdoor conditions. Additionally, a continuing need exists for advances in the art which will not only improve the performance of outdoor burners, but will improve the performance of indoor burners as well.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a gas side burner and outdoor cooker which satisfy the needs and alleviate the problems discussed above.

By way of example, in one aspect, there is provided a side burner apparatus for an outdoor grill or other outdoor cooker wherein the side burner apparatus comprises: (a) a burner head having a plurality of discharge ports extending around the exterior of the burner head for discharging a combustible gas feed stream and (b) a flame guide element positioned in the burner head for receiving the combustible gas feed stream. The flame guide element has a plurality of guide openings positioned for discharging the combustible gas feed stream into the burner head toward the discharge ports of the burner head such that the combustible gas feed stream will flow out of the discharge ports of the burner head at an angle in the range of from 0° to about 30° upward from horizontal.

In another aspect, there is provided a side burner or other cooking burner apparatus which preferably comprises: a burner pan; a burner head positioned in the burner pan, the burner head having a plurality of discharge ports which are provided around the burner head; a guide element which is positioned in the burner head for receiving a combustible gas stream; and the guide element having a plurality of guide element openings which are provided around the guide element for discharging the combustible gas stream into the burner head.

In addition, the cooking burner apparatus can also be characterized in accordance with any one or more of the following items whereby:

-   -   a. The guide element is preferably centrally positioned in the         burner head;     -   b. A flow path is preferably defined by the guide element and         the burner head for the combustible gas stream wherein the flow         path travels through the guide element openings into the burner         head and then travels out of at least most of the discharge         ports of the burner head at an angle in a range of from about 0°         to about 30° upward from horizontal;     -   c. In the guide element: (i) a first portion of the guide         element openings is preferably a lower set of the guide element         openings which extend around the guide element, and (ii) a         second portion of the guide element openings is preferably an         upper set of the guide element openings which extend around the         guide element above the lower set of the guide element openings;     -   d. The average diameter of the lower set of the guide element         openings is preferably from 1.5 to 2.0 times the average         diameter of the discharge ports of the burner head;     -   e. The average diameter of the upper set of the guide element         openings is preferably from 0.5 to 0.75 times the average         diameter of the lower set of the guide element openings;     -   f. The ratio of the diameter of the guide element to the         diameter of the burner head is preferably in a range of from 0.2         to 0.75;     -   g. Support elements are preferably positioned above the burner         pan, the support elements preferably comprise support legs which         extend radially outwardly from above the burner head, and the         support legs have upper horizontal surfaces which together         define a support surface for a cooking container;     -   h. The discharge ports of the burner head are preferably spaced         one inch or less below the support surface;     -   i. The discharge ports of the burner head are preferably spaced         0.8 inches or less below the support surface;     -   j. In the burner head: (i) a first group of the discharge ports         of the burner head preferably consists only of ports which are         positioned directly below any of the support legs; (ii) all of         the discharge ports of the burner head which are not in the         first group are preferably in a second group; and (iii) the         discharge ports in the first group are preferably positioned         elevationally lower than the discharge ports in the second         group;     -   k. An upper surface of the burner pan directly below the         discharge ports of the burner head is preferably from 1.3 to 2         inches below the support surface; and/or     -   l. In the burner pan: (i) the burner pan preferably comprises an         inner series of secondary air openings which are position         elevationally below and radially outward from the discharge         ports of the burner head and (ii) the burner pan preferably         further comprises an outer series of secondary air openings         spaced outwardly from the inner series of secondary air         openings.

In another aspect, there is provided an outdoor cooking grill having the inventive side burner installed therein adjacent to a grill firebox.

Further aspects, features, and advantages of the present invention will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon examining the accompanying drawings and upon reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a prior art gas side burner 2.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a prior art outdoor cooking grill 7 having a prior art side burner 2 installed in a side tray 5 of the grill 7.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an embodiment 100 of the gas side burner provided by the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a cutaway elevational view of the inventive side burner 100.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an embodiment 102 of an inventive outdoor cooking grill having the inventive side burner 100 installed in a side tray 104 of the inventive grill 102.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

An embodiment 100 of the gas side burner provided by the present invention is depicted in FIGS. 3 and 4. An embodiment 102 of an inventive outdoor cooking grill provided by the present invention is illustrated in FIG. 5. The inventive grill 102 comprises the inventive side burner 100 installed in a side tray 104 of the inventive grill 102 adjacent to the grill firebox 106.

The inventive side burner 100 comprises: a burner pan 108; a burner head 110 which is centrally positioned inside the burner pan 108; a flame guide element 112 positioned within the burner head 110; a fuel line 114 which extends through the bottom of the burner pan 108 for delivering a combustible gas feed stream (e.g., typically a mixture of fuel and primary air) upwardly into the flame guide element 112; an inner series of secondary air openings 116 formed through the bottom of the burner pan 108 in a circular arrangement around the burner head 110; an outer series of secondary air openings 118 formed through the bottom of the burner pan 108 in a circular arrangement around the inner series of secondary air openings 116; and a plurality of (preferably 3 or 4) cooking pot support elements 120 for supporting a cooking pot, pan, or other cooking container 122 over the upper end 124 of the burner pan 108.

The flame guide element 112 is preferably a cylindrical element which is centrally (i.e., preferably coaxially) positioned within the burner head 110. The lower end 113 of the flame guide element 112 is connected to the fuel line 114 for receiving the fuel and primary air mixture. The flame guide element 112 includes at least one, and preferably includes two or more, series of guide discharge openings which extend around the cylindrical outer wall of the guide element 112 for discharging the fuel and primary air mixture into the burner head 110 toward the discharge ports 134 thereof. More preferably, as illustrated in FIG. 4, the flame guide element 112 has both (a) a series of lower guide discharge openings 119 which extend around the outer wall of the guide element 112 and (b) a series of upper guide discharge openings 121 which extend around the outer wall of the guide element 112 above the lower series of openings 119.

The flame guide element 112 reduces and equalizes the velocity of the fuel and primary air mixture within the burner head 110. Also, more importantly, the flame guide element 112 raises the angle at which the fuel and primary air mixture is received by and discharged from the discharge ports 134 of the burner head 110 so that the resulting size of the central zone 125 beneath the bottom of the cooking pan 122 which is not heated by direct contact with the combustion flame stream 132 is significantly reduced. However, the flame guide element 112 does not raise the angle of discharge from the burner head 110 by an amount which would cause the burner flame to impinge on the bottom of the cooking pot or pan 122 in a manner such that combustion failure would occur (i.e., such that the inventive side burner 100 would fail the combustion certification test). These changes significantly improve the cooking heat transfer efficiency of the inventive side burner 100 and thus also significantly reduce the amount of fuel required to achieve any given amount of heat input into the product which is being cooked or heated.

Except in relation to certain specific burner head discharge ports 134 a as discussed below, the flame guide element 112 preferably modifies the internal flow path of the fuel and primary air mixture within the burner head 110 so that, rather than being ejected from the burner head 110 at a downward angle as is the case with the prior art burner 2 described above, the fuel and air mixture will exit the burner head discharge ports 134 at a substantially horizontal or upward angle in the range of from about 0° (horizontal) to about 30° from horizontal.

In the embodiment 100 of the inventive side burner shown in FIGS. 3-5, the lower series of discharge openings 119 which extends around the flame guide element 112 is preferably located at a vertical elevation such that the average elevational location of the opening center points of the series of guide discharge openings 119 is from about 0.05 inches below to about 0.15 inches below the average elevational location of the port center points of the series of burner head discharge ports 134, not including the discharge ports 134 a. The upper series of discharge openings 121 which extends around the flame guide element 112, on the other hand, is preferably from about 0.05 inches to about 0.15 inches above the lower series of flame guide discharge openings 119.

As another alternative, instead of multiple rows of discharge openings, the flame guide element can have a single row of discharge openings positioned so that the average elevational location of the center points of the openings is from about 0.15 inches above to about 0.15 inches below the average elevational location of the port center points of the series of burner head discharge ports 134, not including the discharge ports 134 a.

The diameters of the lower discharge openings 119 which extend around the flame guide element 112 will preferably be from about 1.5 to about 2.0 times the diameter of burner head discharge ports 134. Typically, the diameter of the burner head discharge ports 134 will be up to about 0.11 inches and the diameter of the lower discharge openings 119 of the flame guide element 112 will be about 0.188 inches.

The diameter of the upper series of flame guide discharge openings 121, on the other hand, will preferably be from about 0.50 to about 0.75 times the diameter of the lower flame guide discharge openings 119. Typically, the average diameter of the upper discharge openings 121 of the flame guide element will be about 0.125 inches.

The ratio of the diameter of the flame guide element 112 to the inside diameter 126 of the burner head 110 will preferably be about 0.75 or less, will more preferably be about 0.7 or less, will more preferably be about 0.6 or less, will more preferably be about 0.5 or less, and will more preferably be about 0.45 or less. It is also preferred that the ratio of the diameter of the flame guide element 112 to the inside diameter 126 of the burner head 110 will be at least 0.2, will more preferably be at least 0.25, will more preferably be at least 0.3, will more preferably be at least 0.35, and will more preferably be at least 0.4.

In conjunction with and partly as a result of the novel modifications and improvements already discussed, as well as further modifications and improvements discussed below, the diameter 126 of the burner head 110 of the inventive burner 100 is also preferably significantly reduced as compared to the prior art side burner 2. In addition, the burner head 110 of the inventive burner 100 is raised so that it is significantly closer to the bottom of the cooking pot or pan 122. Reducing the diameter 126 of the burner head 110 assists in further significantly reducing the size of the central zone 125 beneath the bottom of the cooking pan 122 which is not heated by direct contact with the combustion flame stream 132. Moreover, the ability to raise the burner head 110 such that it is significantly closer to the bottom of the cooking pan 122 (a) further reduces the size of the central zone 125, (b) further increases the convective heat transfer temperature of the combustion gases in the central zone 125, and (c) further increases the contacting temperature of the combustion flame stream 132 outside of the central zone 125.

In fact, when sized for heating a 6 to 11 inch cooking pot 122, the central zone 125 of the inventive side burner 100 wherein the pot 122 is not directly contacted by the combustion flame stream 132 is reduced to a diameter of less than 4 inches.

The ratio of the diameter 126 of the burner head 110 to the diameter 128 of the upper end 124 of the cavity 130 of the burner pan 108 will preferably be about 0.5 or less, will more preferably be about 0.4 or less, and will more preferably be about 0.35 or less. It is also preferred that the ratio of the diameter 126 of the burner head 110 to the cavity diameter 128 of the burner pan 108 will be at least 0.2, will more preferably be at least 0.25, and will more preferably be at least 0.3.

However, it will be understood that the ratio of the diameter 126 of the burner head 110 to the diameter 128 of the cavity 130 of the burner pan 108 can alternatively be greater than the preferred values listed above so long as the diameter 126 of the burner head 110 is not so large that the burner flame impinges on the more shallow burner pan 108 of the inventive side burner 100. In addition, the ratio of the diameter 126 of the burner head 110 to the diameter 128 of the cavity 130 of the burner pan 108 can also be smaller than the preferred values listed above, but the need to heat the larger volume within the burner pan 108 relative to the size of the burner head 110 can reduce to some degree the energy savings provided by the inventive side burner 100.

Except for certain ones of the burner head discharge ports 134 as explained below, the discharge ports 134 extending around the burner head 110 will preferably be vertically spaced about 1 inch or less below the tops (i.e., the cooking pot supporting surfaces) 136 of the cooking pot support elements 120, will more preferably be vertically spaced about 0.9 inches or less below the tops 136 of the support elements 120, will more preferably be vertically spaced about 0.8 inches or less below the tops 136 of the support elements 120, will more preferably be vertically spaced about 0.75 inches or less below the tops 136 of the support elements 120, and will more preferably be vertically spaced about 0.7 inches or less below the tops 136 of the support elements 120. In addition, the discharge ports 134 of the burner head 110 will preferably be vertically spaced at least 0.4 inches below the tops 136 of the support elements 120, will more preferably be vertically spaced at least 0.5 inches below the tops 136 of the support elements 120, and will more preferably be vertically spaced at least 0.55 inches below the tops 136 of the support elements 120.

As will be understood by those in the art, the size and/or number of the discharge ports 134 provided around the burner head 110 will be determined based upon the amount of heat output needed and the heating value(s) of the particular fuel gas or gases which will used in the inventive side burner 100. For example, because natural gas has a lower heating value than LP gas so that a greater amount of natural gas is required to provide a given heat output, a larger port size and/or a greater number of discharge ports 134 would be preferred for a burner designed for burning natural gas versus a burner designed solely for burning LP gas. However, regardless of the particular type of fuel gas which will be used, it is preferred that the discharge ports 134 of the burner head 110 be no more than 0.125 inches apart, edge-to-edge, so that, when ignited, the flame will carry over from port to port around the entire circumference of the burner head 110.

The cooking pot support elements 120 of the inventive side burner 100 substantially eliminate the presence of lateral flow hurdles beneath the cooking pot 122 which would otherwise deflect the radial flow of flue gas and the radial flow of the combustion flame stream 132 and thereby create air insulated zones on the bottom of the cooking pot 122. Each of the cooking pot support elements 120 is preferably a V-shaped element wherein the point, or rounded point, 140 of the V is positioned over the burner head 110 and the legs 142 and 144 of the support V extend radially outward, preferably past the outer edge 146 of the burner pan cavity 130. Because the radial support legs 142 and 144 are substantially in line with (i.e., are oriented in substantially the same direction as) the radial flow 138 of the flue gas and the radial flow of the combustion flame stream 132, the support legs 142 and 144 do not substantially block or obstruct the radial flows 132 and 138 along the bottom surface of the cooking pot 122 in any way.

To prevent any significant impingement of the combustion flame stream 132 on the bottom surfaces of the legs 142 and 144 of the cooking pot support elements 120, it is also preferred that any of the discharge ports 134 a of the burner head 110 which are directly beneath the support legs 142 and 144 will be positioned downwardly with respect to the other discharge ports 134 by an amount which is sufficient to prevent, or at least significantly reduce, any such impingement. Also, the diameter of the discharge ports 134 a will preferably also be smaller than the diameter of the remaining discharge ports 134.

In contrast to the vertical location of the other discharge ports 134, the discharge ports 134 a which are directly below the support legs 142 and 144 will most preferably be positioned a sufficient vertical distance downward such that the fuel and primary air mixture flowing through the burner head 110 will exit the discharge ports 134 a at a downward angle, preferably of not more than 10° from horizontal. The discharge ports 134 a will preferably be vertically spaced from about 0.06 inches to about 0.10 inches below the remaining ports 134 of the burner head 110 and will more preferably be vertically spaced from about 0.08 inches to about 0.09 inches below the remaining ports 134.

In contrast to the prior art, the burner pan 108 of the inventive side burner 100 is a more shallow pan having an inner surface which is closer to the burner flame and to the bottom of the cooking pot or pan 122. Consequently, the burner pan 108 further increases the energy efficiency of the inventive side burner 100 by (a) reducing the volume within the burner pan 8 which must be heated, (b) capturing a greater amount of radiant energy from the flame and more effectively reflecting and/or emitting the captured energy to the bottom of the cooking pot 122, and (c) more efficiently providing and using secondary air.

The center portion 150 of the burner pan 108 below the burner head 110 will preferably be flat and will also preferably be vertically spaced from about 1 inch to about 3 inches below the tops (i.e., the cooking pot supporting surfaces) 136 of the cooking pot support elements 120. The center portion 150 of the burner pan 108 will more preferably be vertically spaced from about 1.2 inches to about 2.5 inches below the tops 136 of the support elements 120, will more preferably be vertically spaced from about 1.3 inches to about 2 inches below the tops 136 of the support elements 120, and will more preferably be vertically spaced from about 1.4 inches to about 1.8 inches below the tops 136 of the support elements 120.

The diameter 128 of the pan cavity 130 (or the length and width of the cavity if a non-circular pan is used) will preferably be in the range of from about 5 to about 12 inches. The cavity diameter 128 will more preferably be in the range of from about 6 to about 10 inches, will more preferably be in the range of from about 6.5 to about 8 inches, and will more preferably be in the range of from about 6.75 to about 7.5 inches.

Although other shapes such as rectangular, convex round, concave round etc. can alternatively be used, at least most of the remainder of the burner pan 108 extending from the flat bottom portion 150 thereof will preferably have a conical shape as illustrated in FIG. 4. The upward angle 152 of the conical burner pan 108 from the flat bottom portion 150 thereof will preferably be in the range of from about 10° to about 30° from horizontal. The upward angle 152 of the conical portion of the pan 108 will more preferably be in the range of from about 15° to about 25° and will most preferably be about 20° from horizontal.

For the conical burner pan 108, the outer edge of 146 of the burner pan cavity 130 will preferably be vertically spaced from about 0.25 to about 1 inch below the tops (i.e., the cooking pot supporting surfaces) 136 of the support elements 120. The outer edge of 146 of the burner pan cavity 130 will more preferably be vertically spaced from about 0.3 inches to about 0.8 inches below the tops 136 of the support elements 120, will more preferably be vertically spaced from about 0.35 inches to about 0.7 inches below the tops 136 of the support elements 120, and will more preferably be vertically spaced from about 0.4 inches to about 0.6 inches below the tops 136 of the support elements 120.

As mentioned above, two series of secondary air openings, i.e., the inner series of secondary air openings 116 and the outer series of secondary air openings 118, are preferably provided in the shallow, conical burner pan 108 in order to (a) improve the combustion characteristics of the side burner 110, (b) more efficiently supply and use secondary air as mentioned above, and (c) strengthen the burner flame to withstand high wind and other adverse outdoor conditions. As viewed from above, the circular inner series of secondary air openings 116 will preferably be spaced radially outward from the burner head discharge ports 134 at least 0.5 inches. The inner series of secondary air openings 116 will more preferably be spaced outwardly from the burner head discharge ports 134 a radial distance in the range of from about 0.5 to about 1.5 inches and will most preferably be spaced about 1 inch outwardly from the burner head discharge ports 134.

The circular outer series of secondary air openings 118 will preferably be spaced form about 1.0 inches to about 1.75 inches from the inner series of secondary air openings 116 and will more preferably be spaced from about 1.3 inches to about 1.5 inches from the inner series 116.

The diameters of the inner secondary air inner openings 116 and the outer openings 118 will preferably be from about 0.25 inches to about 0.375 inches. Although a preferred arrangement will have 16 round inner openings 116 and 30 round outer openings 118, the burner pan 108 can have any number, shape and size of secondary air openings as preferred or necessary to meet combustion test requirements based on the size of the burner pan, fuel input etc.

The following examples are intended to illustrate but in no way limit the present invention as claimed.

EXAMPLE 1

Tests were conducted using a prior art side burner 2 as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2. The dimensions of the prior art side burner 2 were such that: the depth of the burner pan 4 was 1.63 inches; the bottom the burner pan 4 was spaced 2.3 inches below the top of the cooking pot support grate 14; the diameter of the burner head 6 was 3.7 inches; the discharge ports 10 of the burner head 6 were spaced 1.37 inches from the top of the cooking pot support grate 14; and the diameter of the resulting central zone 20 (i.e., the zone which was not directly contacted by the combustion flame stream 22) beneath an 11 inch cooking pot placed on the prior art side burner 2 was approximately 7.1 inches.

The prior art side burner 2 was operated using a LP gas fuel at a heat input rate of 13,000 BTU/hour (typical high setting of the side burner) to heat 1 liter of water. The water had a beginning temperature of 30° C. The time required to bring the water to a boil was 12 minutes. Moreover, it was observed that the boil was only sufficient to generate bubbles around the periphery of the pot.

In comparison, under ideal conditions, a theoretical calculation with no heat loss showed that the time required to bring the water to a boil with a heat input rate of 13,000 BTU/hour would be less than 2 minutes.

The prior art side burner was then tested at a heat input rate of 6000 BTU/hour (typical low setting of the side burner) but was never able to bring the same quantity of water to a boil.

The head of the prior art burner 2 was then raised so that the discharge ports 10 of the burner head 6 were spaced 0.75 inches from the top of the cooking pot support grate 14. However, in this configuration at a heat input rate of 13,000 BTU/hour, the prior art burner 2 experienced combustion failure and could not pass the combustion test required for product certification.

EXAMPLE 2

An inventive side burner 100 as depicted in FIGS. 3-4 was constructed for testing. The dimensions of the inventive burner 100 were such that: the diameter of the burner head 110 was 2.4 inches; the diameter of the flame guide element 112 was 1.0 inches; the flame guide element 112 had a series of 12 lower guide discharge openings 119, each with a diameter of 0.187 inches; the flame guide element 112 had a series of 12 upper guide discharge openings 121, each with a diameter of 0.12 inches; the diameter 128 of the cavity 130 of the burner pan 108 was 7.12 inches; the burner head 110 had an alternating series of eighteen 0.110 inch diameter and eighteen 0.06 inch diameter discharge ports 134; the vertical distance from the burner head discharge ports 134 to the top surfaces 136 of the cooking pot support elements 120 was 0.678 inches; the burner pan 108 was a conical pan having an upward angle 152 of 20° from horizontal; the bottom center portion 150 of the burner pan 108 was only 1.6 inches below the top surfaces 136 of the cooking pot support elements 120; the outer edge 146 of the burner pan cavity 130 was spaced only 0.5 inches below the top surfaces 136 of the cooking pot support elements 120; the circular inner series of secondary air openings 116 in the burner pan was spaced 0.5 inches radially outward from the burner head discharge ports; and the circular outer series of secondary air openings 118 was spaced 1.35 inches from the inner series of secondary air openings 116.

The inventive side burner 100 was operated using a LP gas fuel at a heat input rate of 6,000 BTU/hour to heat 1 liter of water. The water had a beginning temperature of 30° C. The time required to bring the water to a boil was 7 minutes. Moreover, it was observed that a much stronger boil was generated with bubbles produced over the entire surface of the water.

Consequently, as compared to the prior art burner 2, the inventive side burner 100 brought the same quantity of water to a boil in almost half the time using less than half of the fuel required by the prior art burner, thus showing that the inventive side burner 100 was about 400% more efficient than the prior art side burner 2.

The inventive side burner 100 was then tested at a heat input of only 3,000 BTU/hour and was able to bring the same amount of water to a boil in from 14 to 15 minutes.

Thus, the present invention is well adapted to carry out the objects and attain the ends and advantages mentioned above as well as those inherent therein. While presently preferred embodiments have been described for purposes of this disclosure, numerous changes and modifications will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. Such changes and modifications are encompassed within this invention as defined by the claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A cooking burner apparatus comprising: a burner pan; a burner head positioned in the burner pan, the burner head having a plurality of discharge ports which are provided around the burner head; a guide element which is positioned in the burner head for receiving, a combustible gas stream; the guide element having a plurality of guide element openings which are provided around the guide element for discharging the combustible gas stream into the burner head; support elements positioned above the burner pan, the support elements comprising support legs which extend radially outward from above the burner head and the support legs having upper surfaces which together define a support surface for a cooking container; a first group of the discharge ports of the burner head consists only of ports which are positioned directly below any of the support legs; all of the discharge ports of the burner head which are not in the first group are in a second group; and the discharge ports in the first group are positioned elevationally lower than the discharge ports in the second group.
 2. The cooking burner apparatus of claim 1 wherein the guide element is centrally positioned in the burner head.
 3. The cooking burner apparatus of claim l further comprising a flow path defined by the guide element and the burner head for the combustible gas stream wherein the flow path travels through the guide element openings into the burner head and then travels out of at least most of the discharge ports of the burner head at an angle in a range of from about 0° to about 30° upward from horizontal.
 4. The cooking burner apparatus of claim 1 wherein: a first portion of the guide element openings is a lower set of the guide element openings which extend around the guide element and a second portion of the guide element openings is an upper set of the guide element openings which extend around the guide clement above the lower set of the guide element openings.
 5. The cooking burner apparatus of claim 4 wherein the lower set of the guide element openings have an average diameter, the discharge ports of the burner head have an, average diameter, and. the average diameter of the lower set of the guide element openings is from 1.5 to 2.0 times the average diameter of the discharge ports of the burner head.
 6. The cooking burner apparatus of claim 4 wherein the lower set of the guide element openings have an average diameter, the upper set of the guide element openings have an average diameter, and the average diameter of the upper set of the guide element openings is from 0.5 to 0.75 times the average diameter of the lower set of the guide element openings.
 7. The cooking burner apparatus of claim 1 wherein the burner head has a diameter, the guide element has a diameter, and the ratio of the diameter of the guide element to the diameter of the burner head is in a range of from 0.2 to 0.75.
 8. The cooking burner apparatus of claim 1 wherein the discharge ports of the burner head are spaced one inch or less below the support surface.
 9. The cooking burner apparatus of claim 1 wherein the discharge ports of the burner head are spaced 0.8 inches or less below the support surface.
 10. The cooking burner apparatus of claim 1 wherein an upper surface of the burner pan directly below the discharge ports of the burner head is from 1.3 to 2 inches below the support surface.
 11. The cooking burner apparatus of claim 1 wherein: the burner pan comprises an inner series of secondary air openings which are positioned elevationally below and radially outward from the discharge openings of the burner head and the burner pan father comprises an outer series of secondary air openings spaced outwardly from the inner series of secondary air openings.
 12. An outdoor grill comprising a grill firebox and a side burner apparatus outside of and adjacent to the firebox. wherein the side burner apparatus comprises: a burner pan; a burner head positioned in the bunter pan, the burner head having a plurality of discharge ports which are provided around the burner head; a guide element which is positioned in the burner head for receiving a combustible gas stream; the guide element having a plurality of guide element openings which are provided around the guide element for discharging the combustible gas stream into the burner head; support elements positioned above the burner pan, the support elements comprising support legs which extend radially outward from above the burner head and the support legs having upper surfaces which together define a support surface for a cooking container; a first group of the discharge ports of the burner head consists only of ports which are positioned directly below any of the support legs; all of the discharge ports of the burner head which are not in the first group are in a second group, and the discharge ports in the first group are positioned elevationally lower than the discharge ports in the second group.
 13. The outdoor grill of claim 12 wherein the guide element is centrally positioned in the burner head.
 14. The outdoor grill of claim 12 wherein the side burner apparatus further comprises a flow path defined by the guide element and the burner head for the combustible gas stream wherein the flow path travels through the guide element openings into the burner head and then travels out of at least most of the discharge ports of the burner head at an angle in a range of from about 0° to about 30° upward from horizontal.
 15. The outdoor grill of claim 12 wherein: a first portion of the guide element openings is a lower set of the guide element openings which extend around the guide element and a second portion of the guide element openings is an upper set of the guide element openings which extend around the guide element above the lower set of the guide element openings.
 16. The outdoor grill of claim 15 wherein the lower set of the guide element openings have an average diameter, the discharge ports of the burner head have an average diameter, and the average diameter of the lower set of the guide element openings is from 1.5 to 2.0 times the average diameter of the discharge ports of the burner head.
 17. The outdoor grill of claim 15 wherein the lower set of the guide element openings have an average diameter, the upper set of the guide element openings have an average diameter, and the average diameter of the upper set of the guide element openings is from 0.5 to 0.75 times the average diameter of the lower set of the guide element openings.
 18. The outdoor grill of claim 12 wherein the burner head has a diameter, the guide element has a diameter, and the ratio of the diameter of the guide element to the diameter of the burner head is in a range of from 0.2 to 0.75.
 19. The outdoor grill of claim 12 wherein the discharge ports of the burner, head are spaced one inch or less below the support surface.
 20. The outdoor grill of claim 12 wherein the discharge ports of the burner head are spaced 0.8 inches or less below the support surface.
 21. The outdoor grill of claim 12 wherein an upper surface of the burner pan directly below the discharge ports of the burner head is from 1.3 to 2 inches below the support surface.
 22. The outdoor grill of claim 12 wherein: the burner pan comprises an inner series of secondary air openings which are positioned elevationally below and radially outward from the discharge openings of the burner head and the burner pan further comprises an outer series of secondary air openings spaced outwardly from the inner series of secondary air openings. 